“Style: In defence of Post-Modernism”
Jan01

“Style: In defence of Post-Modernism”

by Patrick Lynch | 20 February 2016 In this witty and robust defence, Adam Nathaniel Furman makes a case for thinking about postmodernism as a style and as a way life – or rather, as the expression of the diversity of ways of living that emerged in the 1960s in affluent western societies: Civil Rights, Gay Rights, etc. He convincingly elides these social phenomena with the various strands of architectural thinking that one finds...

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The Great Mall of China
Nov25

The Great Mall of China

‘Shopping Malls and Public Space in Modern China’ . – by Nick Jewell — After three and a half decades of double-digit growth, China finally appears to be slowing. Even though the modest figures it now reports would be the envy of many Western economies, neo-liberal commentators are gleefully lining up to augur the death of the ‘Chinese Dream’. Predicting the future is a fool’s errand, but the economic slowdown may just...

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Free Will: An Illusion?
Oct13

Free Will: An Illusion?

By Joel Mills | 12 October 2015 Free will is an illusion. Quite a claim, and one that dominates much contemporary scientific thinking, and the pivotal driver for Julian Baggini to write his latest book Freedom Regained: The Possibility of Free Will.  Baggini is a much-respected ‘popular’ philosopher, marked out by an ability to offer a nuanced, insightful take on complex subjects. Here, through some compelling narratives, he grapples...

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White City Black City
May21

White City Black City

Rozie Saunders | 20 May 2015 Sharon Rotbard’s “White City Black City: Architecture and War in Tel Aviv and Jaffa”  is much more than just an architectural history of Tel Aviv and Jaffa. The author, an Israeli architect and writer born in Tel Aviv, explores its development, and its sister city Jaffa through the lens of someone who has lived there continuously for decades. A critical examination of the accepted history of...

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ISIS: The mad residue of the war on terror
May03

ISIS: The mad residue of the war on terror

Tim Black | 04 May 2015 Patrick Cockburn’s study of ISIS indicts both Saudi Arabia and the West says Tim Black in a review we republish courtesy of the spiked Review of Books.   It is April 2010 and Al-Qaeda in Iraq, an extremist Sunni rebel group-cum-terror-franchise responsible for assorted bombings and assaults over the previous half-decade, is at a low ebb. Its two top leaders, Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, have...

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The Evolution of a Modern Man
Mar16

The Evolution of a Modern Man

Matt Bloomfield | 17 March 2015 Review of Mackintosh Architecture, The Architecture Gallery, RIBA Conveniently coinciding with Prince Charles’ latest foray into Architecture, the RIBA’s Mackintosh Architecture exhibition expertly illustrates the third way between historic pastiche and bland commercialisation. The exhibition brings together Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s work from his early days as an apprentice at...

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House: The Dematerialized Home
Feb17

House: The Dematerialized Home

Nicolò Lewanski | 17 February 2015 It is not so often we have the chance to attend a debate where every speaker is precise. When we do it is a pleasure, and such was the case last month when some of the contributors featured in the book SQM: The Quantified Home spoke at the Architectural Association (AA) in London. Produced for the 2014 Biennale Interieur, this project aims to launch a new discussion on the present and the future of...

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Film Review: Robin Hood Gardens
Sep30

Film Review: Robin Hood Gardens

Rosalind Alexander | 30 September 2014 “The Smithsons on Housing” Allow me to introduce you to B S Johnson’s 1970 documentary, “The Smithsons on Housing”, which might be better titled “The Smithsons on the Tragedy that is London.” Everything they discuss is from the perspective of their project at Robin Hood Garden in Poplar, east London, which was in mid-construction when they were interviewed. It is also somewhat difficult to get...

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Book Review: The Writing on the Wall
Jun12

Book Review: The Writing on the Wall

by Martin Earnshaw | 7 June 2014 If you’ve ever wondered how much of your life you have wasted on Social Media, Facebook will tell you with its new app. Despite the widespread assertion that time spent on the internet is time wasted, enthusiasts of new technology stress its benefits. What both sides don’t realise, according to Tom Standage’s recent book, is that these debates have raged for longer than most people think. According to...

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The Practical Possibilist
Oct14

The Practical Possibilist

Population 10 Billion: The Coming Demographic Crisis and How to Survive It by Danny Dorling; Constable, 2013. 448pp Reviewed by Martin Earnshaw | 14 October 2013 The recent news that the UK is experiencing a mini baby boom was greeted with predictable panic about how Britain’s services would cope. From worries about an ageing population to the familiar refrain (1) about depleted resources, population has long been a lightning rod for...

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